How Uploading Podcasts Can Complement the Student Experience

March 1, 2017

In-person lectures aren’t the only way to educate your students anymore. Learning how to make a podcast is one of the easiest ways to impact your students' education. Give your students the power to go back and revisit your lectures over and over again while studying, rather than relying on hastily taken notes during the class period. With the right podcast software and hardware at your fingertips, making a high-quality educational podcast is simple.

Let’s examine helpful guidelines on these topics:

• How to start/make a podcast

• Podcast software

Create a Production Strategy

There are plenty of ways to make a great podcast, but it all depends on what you want to accomplish. Some speakers prefer to adhere to a script that they write beforehand. This provides structure, which is valuable if you're teaching elementary- or middle-schoolers who need the subject matter laid out clearly. Other speakers like to choose a jumping-off point and then ad lib their podcast. This has the potential to lead to some great off-the-path discussions that your high school or college-aged students might find useful. Also consider any props that you may use to supplement the podcast material. You could implement physical props such as a whiteboard or illustrations drawn in real-time, or overlay a diagram using a green screen. Either way, script your monologue appropriately to account for your overall approach. Getting started with a strategy in mind provides you with a valuable road map and helps make sure that your podcast comes out the way you intended it to.

Invest in the Right Hardware

You can know everything there is to know about creating a great podcast, but it all starts with the right equipment. Invest in a high-quality microphone that isolates input and eliminates background noise. This creates a crisp sound that's easy for your students to follow and pleasant to listen to. For an all-in-one solution, consider a microphone such as the Blue Yeti, which features a triple capsule array that lets you record sound that is typically only possible with multiple microphones. Or, choose a rack-mountable, all-in-one system such as the PylePro Premier that’s simple to use. If you plan to record podcasts with multiple speakers, consider a [microphone] such as the Samson Stage Quad Vocal Wireless system. The Samson supports up to four speakers, each offering its own crisp, clear audio channel for a great quality sound. Investing in a great quality sound recording system makes certain that your podcasts will sound consistent for years to come.

Research Post-Production Techniques

The podcast production experience doesn't end when you turn off the microphone. Give your students the best podcast experience possible by taking care to preserve the audio quality in post-production. A good [audio editing software suite] gives you the ability to compress your audio, which creates an equilibrium between the loudest and quietest sounds in your podcast. It also lets you normalize your audio, which makes it sound better across a greater range of volumes. This makes sure that your students can hear the podcast clearly, even if their volume isn't up to 100 percent. The last step in post-production is to export your file to MP3 with constant bitrate, which makes it compatible and easy to hear across a wide range of audio players. This combination of steps helps your audio to sound professional and lacks any distortion or audible distractions, keeping your audience engaged and attentive.

You don't need to be a recording pro to create meaningful, quality podcasts that supplement your students' education. Whether you teach elementary school children, college students or some age in-between, your students are likely to benefit from podcast versions of your lecture materials. Give your students the ability to revisit key concepts over and over again in an audio format, and watch their comprehension soar.